Here in the Netherlands we have this restaurant ( small chain actually) that is wonderful for groups! It's called "pasta di mama" and is, as one might guess, Italian.

Everybody gets a card when entering the restaurant, it's kinda like a credit-card. You have a menu on your table, but to get your food and drinks, you go to one of the "Bars" place your card in a machine, place your order, and it will be put on your card.

At the end of the night you go to the register and pay for what's on your card. It's brilliant. If you want to pay for the whole table, you just hand in all the cards, if you want to buys someone a drink, you let them use your card. I love the system, It was brilliant when we were in high school and had very different budgets.

@lexophile, as far as I know, the whole idea started here in "the Benelux" (Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) We have, as mentioned above, "Speculaas" cookies that are very traditional and popular here. A lot of people would put these cookies on bread, as a sandwich, and bring it to school or work (most people here always bring a lunchbox) but since this really wasn't that practical some people thought of "speculaas sprinkles" and some others came up with Speculoos, wich is apparently called Biscoff spread where you guys are.

I must say, I didn't know spekulaas cookies (Let alone speculoos) existed outside The Benelux, because we always hear stories about people bringing speculaas with them for friends and family who live abroad.

About the "alternative to peanut butter" slogan... No it isn't. We eat peanut butter. A LOT of peanut butter (well... I do) and i have never heard anyone here refer to speculoos/biscoff as an alternative to peanut butter. Because, well, obviously, it isn't!

Let's see....I'm 19. I study psychology at the university of Amsterdam. I was born and raised in Haarlem (the Netherlands) close to Amsterdam. And is still live there. My father is from Antwerp (Belgium) so I'm also half Belgian.

Hmm.. I like fondant. The fondant I use for my cakes tastes good! (to me) But I prefer good quality marsepein to cover my cakes with. I like the combination of marsepein to cover cakes and icing for decorations.

But hey, I get that a lot of people don't like it. Maybe I'm biased because I make them? I do like buttercream cakes as well!

In the Netherlands there is a game called "koekhappen" It means something like "bite the cake/cookie" We have a special kind of cake (breakfast cake, we call it) and we hang it from a string. Kids have to eat it of the string, which is usually a bit to high for them, without using their hands. No running, but it is fun. It's often played at childrens birthday parties.

I'm half Dutch half Belgian, and there is one thing we enjoy for breakfast on special occasions! French toast! Or as we call it... well... we have many names for it: "verloren brood" or "Pan perdu" in French which both means "lost bread" or the very Dutch term: "Wentelteefjes" That really doesn't mean anything....

Hello everyone!
I have a question: My boyfriend and I have been planning a trip to New York City for aaages. The last time I was there I was 13, and he's never been out of Europe. We've been saving up and were planning on going during the summer of 2012. But yesterday I realised, I'm not going to be 21 until october of 2012!

Being half Dutch half Belgian, I've been used to drinking wine at home since I was 8 and drinking legally at cafe's since I was 16. My boyfriend and I don't like to party or visit bars and clubs much, so that won't be a problem. We usually only drink about one glass of alcohol a week, but on holliday one of our favorite things is to enjoy a good glass of wine together at dinner. My question to you is, will this be possible? Will I be able to have a glass of wine when dining at a good restaurant? Or will I be refused as I will be 20 years old at that time? I do look older then I am, but I hear they check ID all the time. I don't mind being refused at clubs and bars, but if I can't have a glass of wine at dinner that would make me consider postponing the trip. What do you think? Thanks for your help!

Hi everybody!
My boyfriend and I are going to visit Paris for a long weekend in march (can't wait!!) It's his first time to Paris, so I really want to make it a trip to remember. \

We are a young couple (from the Netherlands) who moved in together last May, so we don't have that much money.
We plan on doing one very special thing while we're there. A dinner at a famous restaurant sounds lovely, but since that could cost around 200 euro's... maybe a bit too much.

So I started thinking, maybe a high tea at a fancy hotel would be nice? I know about laduree, but a lot of people have told me about the bad service. So I looked into the Ritz High tea, and it looks lovely! But, since it is so much money I would like to hear from some of you if it's really worth it?

Also, how far in advance do you need to make a reservation? And what is the dress code like? No jeans and sneakers of course, but I have a tendency to overdress for these things.

Danny Meyer's Union Square Cafe has served seasonally-inspired food near New York's biggest Greenmarket for more than 25 years. But this Saturday, they're rolling out the restaurant's very first brunch menu, which will be served Saturdays and Sundays from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. More

Two years into the life of this once-clubby restaurant, much has changed. Graydon Carter brought in an unbelievable roster of New York restaurant talent to turn the place around—and there's now a drool-inducing bar menu. Burgers and corn fritters and whipped lardo, no reservation required? We were there. More

High-end dim sum is what Ed Schoenfeld and Joe Ng do best. The former is the man behind Chinatown Brasserie, Shun Lee, and Shun Lee Palace; the latter, a dim sum chef Schoenfeld met in Sunset Park and brought on board at Chinatown Brasserie. Almost a year ago, the chef-restauteur pair launched the RedFarm stall in the upscale food court FoodParc, where we loved the dumplings and pastrami egg rolls and quite a bit else. And finally, after a number of delays and what seemed like weeks of preview dinners, they've opened their newest restaurant, also called RedFarm, in a townhouse in the West Village. More

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It's sort of like a dream come true isn't it? Five courses of plated dessert (not to mention sweet amuses and mignardise), from Pastry Chef Elwyn Boyles. Per Se's recently launched $65 dessert tasting menu is served exclusively in the Salon, which means that you can walk in on a whim any day of the week to indulge. And what a way to go. The menu changes frequently, incorporating both classic Per Se favorites (hello, "Coffee and Doughnuts") along with new, inventive numbers. More

Fun is usually not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of tasting menus. Expensive? For sure. Exciting? I hope so. Tasty? Better be. Show-offy? Often. So when I went to Torrisi Italian Specialties for Rich Torrisi's freshly designed $125 twenty-course tasting menu, I couldn't help but wonder: could the chef's characteristic sense of humor make such a marathon meal a fun experience?
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Although the Serious Eats community has recently weighed in about their favorite burgers in Talk and on Serious Eats New York, Travis's question gives a good opportunity for those of us behind AHT to share our favorite burgers in the city (and share some burger porn you may have missed over the years). Here are our favorites aside from Shake Shack, which we all love. More